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We often see monkeys eating fruits from trees, such as bananas. However, since many also eat some form of animal protein, they tend to be omnivorous rather than herbivorous. Different types of monkeys live in different habitats, so not all of them have access to the same food sources. Read on to find out more about what monkeys eat, where they find food, why they eat what they do, and more.
What do monkeys eat?
Monkeys are mammals of the order of primates. They are members of the suborder Hapolorini and the infraorder Simiiformes, monkeys. Unlike representatives of the suborder Strepsirrhini, they cannot synthesize vitamin C and therefore need it in their diet. For this reason, they use a variety of food sources, including bananas and other fruits, which makes them frugivorous. Not only are most monkeys usually omnivorous, some species are both frugivorous and insectivorous, while others are mostly frugivorous or insectivorous. The only obligate carnivorous primate is the tarsier.
Certain types of primates have special anatomy for the use of certain foods, including leaves, fruits, chewing gum, or insects. Howler monkeys, for example, eat leaves with long digestive tracts to absorb indigestible nutrients from the leaves, just like colobus monkeys. Both also have multi-chambered stomachs that allow specialized fermentation of plant matter similar to those of ruminants. Capuchin monkeys feed on both plant matter and insects and other small animals. Gelada is the only species of monkey in the Old World and the only primate whose main food is grass, making it herbivorous.
When monkeys eat fruit, they inevitably encounter overripe fruit. And they often do it. Drunken monkeys were observed after eating large amounts of sweet-smelling fermented fruits. But don’t worry, the amount of alcohol they get is relatively small. Because they get the naturally fermented alcohol from the fruit, instead of splitting it into a drink, they fill up and stop drinking.
What about cannibalism? This behavior, which is rare in monkeys compared to other primates, can occur for one of several reasons: a pregnant female in need of nutrients, or a cub that has recently been weaned are a few of the options.
Where do monkeys find food?
Monkeys use food sources that they can eat and digest from their environment. Their food is anything they can get relatively easily to quickly get fruit sugars, carbohydrates, fiber, and animal protein. Old World monkeys and monkeys have opposing fingers to help them grab and pluck fruit, and smaller ones to swing from tree to tree. They can also feed better on land.
Monkeys travel a lot in search of food, and Old World monkeys have special cheek pouches for storing food. Some species store food in caches. Those who eat insects and other small animals such as lizards, snails, and frogs hunt them. Capuchin monkeys are highly intelligent New World monkeys that have been observed to use rocks and tools to forage for hard shells, ants, termites, and other hard-to-find food.
The diet of urban monkeys
In India, monkeys are revered as incarnations of the Hindu god Hanuman. Therefore, they are fed out of respect and for fear of being attacked. They became very brave and rebellious among the humans, jumping, exploring, communicating and fighting between rooftops and loitering around temples. In Colombia, tamarin monkeys live in cities. Japanese macaques are found in Jigokudani, Japan. They are unique in that they can live in extreme cold and enjoy hot springs, which is why they are called snow monkeys.
However, urban monkeys are unhealthy due to the fact that they follow the urban diet. They have less muscle than their wild counterparts, are overweight, high blood pressure and cholesterol. It’s not only the abundant fruit trees in urban forest areas, but the junk food they feed people, plus an easy life which means they don’t have to jump around looking for food. Any sugary processed food people give them impairs their behavior, becomes hyperactive, highly aggressive, and guaranteed to be offensive.
What foods are harmful, toxic or poisonous to monkeys?
The devil’s trumpet or angel’s trumpet is poisonous to animals, including monkeys. Pesticides, including organophosphate, are toxic to animals, while organochlorine DDT is not very toxic but does affect fertility.
A complete list of foods that monkeys eat
What do wild monkeys eat:
- Fruit-eating and omnivorous animals: bananas, mangoes and other fruits.
- Fruit-eating and omnivorous animals: grass, leaves, flowers, buds, seeds, gum, nectar.
- Insectivorous, omnivorous and obligate predators: insects, snails and other invertebrates.
- Omnivorous and obligate carnivore species: bird eggs, birds, lizards, bats, squirrels and other small vertebrates.
What city monkeys eat:
- Fruit from the trees
- Food from people
- Throwing food in the trash
Next: What do flamingos eat?
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